News stories by Kanya DAlmeida, page 5

DHAKA/UNITED NATIONS, Apr 22 (IPS) - Some say they were beaten with iron bars. Others confess their families have been threatened with death. One pregnant woman was assaulted with metal curtain rods.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 16 (IPS) - An expose published Thursday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and its media partners has revealed that in the course of a single decade, 3.4 million people were evicted from their homes, torn away from their lands or otherwise displaced by projects funded by the World Bank.

UNITED NATIONS, Apr 10 (IPS) - If you are reading this article, consider yourself one of the lucky ones; lucky enough to have received an education, or to be secure in the knowledge that your child will receive one. Lucky enough to be literate in a world where – more often than not – the ability to read and write can mean the difference between a decent life and abject poverty.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 27 (IPS) - First the centre of the silk route, then the epicenter of bloody conflicts, Afghanistan's history can be charted through many diverse chapters, the most recent of which opened with the election of President Ashraf Ghani in September 2014.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 13 (IPS) - On Apr. 6, 2013, Nadia Sharmeen, a crime reporter, was assigned to cover a rally organised by Hefazat-e-Islam, an association of fundamentalist Islamic groups in Bangladesh whose demands included a call to revoke the proposed National Women Development Policy.

NEW DELHI, Mar 04 (IPS) - India is not only poised for greatness, some say it is already on its way. The events that have shaped the nation's dialogue over the past month showcase an India with a bold vision – to transform industry, to close the gap on inequality and ultimately, to redefine its place as a leader among the world.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 03 (IPS) - Nearly half of the four billion people who reside in the Asia-Pacific region are women. They comprise two-thirds of the region's poor, with millions either confined to their homes or pushed into the informal labour market where they work without any safeguards for paltry daily wages. Millions more become victims of trafficking and are forced into prostitution or sexual slavery.

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25 (IPS) - The cradle of some of the world's most ancient civilizations, home to four out of the planet's six billion people, and a battleground for the earth's remaining resources, Asia and the Pacific are poised to play a defining role in international affairs in the coming decade.

COLOMBO, Jan 13 (IPS) - Scenes from the brutal shooting of 12 journalists with the French satirical weekly ‘Charlie Hebdo' have monopolised headlines worldwide ever since two men opened fire in the magazine's Paris office on Jan. 7.

COLOMBO, Jan 09 (IPS) - When the initial results started trickling in a little after midnight on Jan. 9, it still wasn't clear exactly which way the country would swing: had Sri Lanka's 15 million eligible voters thrown in their lot with incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa for a third term? Or would the desire for change put common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena at the helm?